Happy Reading :)
Last night was great. I wish it could be same fun and peaceful this morning s well, only if I could sleep for 10 min without any pillow fights.
"Fuck you John! You tricked me into the last game. I got 4 Queen cards and I would have won if you DIDN'T THROW AWAY MY CARDS!" Andy roared. Smack!! He threw a pillow right onto John's face.
"Woah! Direct hit! Full points, Andy!" Joe shouted on a high pitch.
"Hey!! I did not! Alex did!" John said. Smack, again! He threw two pillows, one at Andy and one at Alex.
"John, you got only half the points! Andy ducted down and you didn't get him." Joe shrilled on a a higher pitch.
"Ughh, Joe! Stop shouting and let me sleep!" I said irritated.
"Owwww! You liar. You did that." Alex growled at Andy ofcourse ignoring me. And then he turned into a werewolf. (Haha. Don't worry this isn't a werewolf story but he growled).
"Joe, Alex stop shouting. Guys please play out and let me sleep here- AAAgghhh stop throwing the pillow on ME!" I tried to be as sweet as possible but my brothers in room had turned into apes. The loud noises were giving me headache.
"Ria, hold on. This is not a game. This is a war! Common guys, fight for your respect and pride!" Joe climbed up on my bed and started jumping over it, shaking the whole bed!
"Oh common Girls, stop fighting, get another room!" I finally roared. By the way it looks like they missed me last night so much that they all sat on my tiny bed, playing a stupid Poker game and they won't leave the room and neither let me get out.
"Ria, just go to sleep. This is a men's fight." Andy said as he pushed me back to my bed when I tried to move down.
My eyes rolled. "Yeah, playing with pillows is indeed men's fight. By the way, I WAS sleeping peacefully until you guys chose my room to play your stupid damn poker and fight with stupid pillows and then hitting me instead!" I sat up. There was no question of sleeping through this noisy 'men's fight', duh-uh.
Triiiiiiiing. The bell rang.
"Joe, go open the door." I said him angrily.
"Don't you see I am busy here. You go and open." Joe said in turn.
I huffed angrily and got down the bed. They had already ruined my sleep and now the bell ringing for loud was unbearable.
"Fine. But don't come crying to when I complain everything about you all to mom and dad. I have a big list for all of you now." I said.
My brothers spared a second or two to chuckle and then went back to their stupid pillow fight.
Triiing.
Triiiing.
"Ya, coming, COMING.." I said as I made a quick run to the door and opened it.
"Hello, Ria..."
I sipped a sudden breathe and took a step back cautiously. Infront of me standing was my uncle, uncle Garry.
The last time I saw him was when we were still staying with him in his house. And with that everything came as a flash back infront of me... his threat to send me to boarding school, my mum meeting with the accident and then images of him assaulting me, which actually led to the separation of our families and he never tried even once to make things work out between him and my dad when we left his home after that ugly fight.
"You won't invite me inside, Ria?" Uncle asked.
"I..um.." I stammered, just like when I was little and uncle shouted on me and sometimes even bashed me for every silly mistake of mine and made them a big fuss.
I saw him coming inside the door and then I saw Mark too coming behind him and I started feeling sick. Were they here to get back on me as Mark was insulted in school for wrongly framing Alex for hitting Tim? I moved a few steps back and kept looking at the stairs to see if any of my brothers were coming down.
"J.., John" I called out for my brother who was still in my room. But my voice came out all shaky and whispering. The site of my uncle and Mark standing infront of me had paralysed my vocal cords. So as expected I got no response from my brothers. I turned back quickly to go to my room but I felt my arm grabbed tightly by my uncle.
"Ria..." My uncle said and I felt so threatened and scared that a streak of tears came pouring off my eyes.
Every memory I had in my 15 years of life flashed in my mind where uncle used to scold me, punish me for long hours by locking my own room and even hit me.
"Leave me, please!" I shrieked out in desperate need to get away from him.
"Ria, listen to me, will you?" Uncle said but still didn't leave my arm, though I kept squirming under his hold.
"Let go of me I said!.... John!!" I was almost on the verge of crying as I managed to call my brother one more time.
"How dare you raise your voice on my dad!" Mark came hovering on me with rage in his eyes and I trembled on his high pitch.
"Ria.. what's up kiddo? Who's at the door?" John came in a light mood and then he saw us and stopped for a second and his expression changed from a jovial and funny mood to a dangerous deadly one.
He swiftly reached to me, pulled me from uncle's harsh grip and quickly swooped me his embrace. He then pulled me behind him and shouted on uncle, "What the hell are you doing in my home and how dare you hurt my sister!"
"John, you are wrong.. I just-" Uncle said and by that time other of my brothers too came down stairs.
"I am wrong? I saw you intimidating and scaring my little sister and you still have things to explain?" John roared.
"Dad, I told you its useless to speak to them." Mark said to uncle with venom in his voice.
"Yeah, then why are you here in my premises you punk and scaring my sister?" Joe said this time as he stood in front of me but was stopped by John when he tried to move further.
"We are not here to scare your sister, Joe. And don't forget that I am still your uncle, so don't raise your voice on me." Uncle said. Joe shrunk back a little.
"And you don't forget that you standing under MY roof now. Now tell us why you are here." John said.
We saw uncle drop his guard now. There was no way he could rule us when he was in our home. But there was a time when I and all my brothers were much younger and none of us had the courage to even stand to uncle's injustice. Talking back or challenging him was out of question. But now we were no longer the little kids and even uncle knew that and that's why he kept mum when John challenged him back. If this was 8 years back, John would have been punished like hell.
Uncle Garry made a small eye-contact with Mark and spoke with a sigh, "I... we are here to apologise." Uncle said and that literally shocked everyone so much that the entire house seemed pin-drop-silent for next 5 seconds.
"You what..?" John asked surprised.
"Yes, John. That's true." Gino said this while he and aunt Milly entered through our door and we all turned towards them.
When we still kept silent because of the puzzled situation, uncle added, "John..., we heard from Gino that how Alex was framed for assaulting a boy at school named Tim I guess, and Mark supported the allegation infront of the school authority."
Aunt Milly came forward as Gino held her hand supporting her weight, she added, "And what Mark did was really unacceptable," she gave a stern look to Mark and then her eyes travelled to Alex's and they turned soft and moist and she added, "Alex can never do such thing." She removed Gino hand from hers with an assuring look and stepped forward towards Alex.
Alex, standing protectively beside me till now, had similar emotions like us. First angry, hurt, then puzzled and now he too looked emotional when aunt Milly proceeded towards us. And he took no longer than a second to leap forward and held aunt Milly when she stumbled on her way. Then I realised how weak she had become in last one month.
Aunt brushed her hand through Alex's hair and she hugged him protectively. It melted our hearts too.
Over many years our relation with uncle Garry and his boys were strained because of his constant dislike towards me and my brothers. But aunt Milly had nothing but love and affection for us.
She considered all of us like her own children and that made us overlook all our hatred towards uncle and Mark. Aunt Milly hugged Alex, then Andy and Joe and then John.
John gave a sweet kiss on her cheek and then aunt turned towards me.
She was now crying when I hugged her back. She kissed me on my forehead, on my cheeks and she kept murmuring 'my baby' 'my little girl'.
Even uncle, Mark and Gino had gone emotional with moist eyes. They might hate me to no limits but their love for aunt Milly was way more than that.
"Garry, see, here's my little girl. Oh Ria, how much I missed you all these days. Didn't you miss your aunt, my dear?" Aunt asked me crying. Even I cried and nodded in yes. I always loved her like I loved my mom.
"Come with me Ria, come home.. Please..." Aunt started crying even more frantically.
"Garry, bring her home, please... Ria, won't you come back to your aunt, my baby?" Aunt kept saying holding me tight.
I felt little moved, reluctant and scared as well and looked at John who was surprised and speechless himself. Suddenly aunt took my hand and pulled me towards uncle Garry and said, "Garry, please.. I want my daughter home. Please Garry."
She kept crying and then Mark and Gino held her hand and slowly took her out of the house.
But I got another hateful and hurt look from Mark before he left. But it was more hurting to see aunt crying so bad and I really wanted to go and stop her from leaving and say her that I was more than happy to stay with her, but just her..., not uncle, not Gino and Mark. I spent the most measurable days of my life under my uncle's roof where I was blamed, hurt and humiliated every day for the acts that my dad's sister, aunt Rosy carried out even before I was born.
I saw uncle shed a tear or two and then after a deep breathe he turned to John and said, "I am sorry, John, Ria.. I never expected her to behave like this."
"Don't apologise, uncle. I know how much she love us, specially Ria." John answered.
"Yes. She does. You know, she was so depressed after your dad and you all left home. For the first few days it was so difficult to make her eat or sleep. Gino and Mark never left her alone and slowly she returned to her normal self. But she is always lonely, John. She misses you all a lot, specially Ria and your mother." Uncle said and we nodded, feeling sad.
Uncle added, " But I am happy we came here and she saw you. I can see her smile in happiness after so long. And I can do anything to see her happy."
John nodded in yes.
"John, so I want something from you, for Milly..." Uncle said after a pause.
"Anything... Uncle." John said the next instant, he loved aunt Milly as much as he loved mom.
"John... it would be great if Ria comes back and stays at my place. And I wanted just her... my boys and you may not able to stay under one roof. I am sure even you will agree to that." Uncle said that casually but it hit me like a bomb. I got goosebumps and my throat suddenly felt dry.
"What?... I don't understand, You want Ria alone back in your house?" John looked startled and his voice fumbled.
"Yes John. I know you are incharge now and that's because Harry believes in you to be responsible and take decisions in his absence, which you do very well." Uncle said or I should say was pursuing John.
I felt shivers all through my body and looked at Andy, Alex and Joe, who were themselves startled, confused and angry. But I was in pure terror. I could never step in that house and that too alone without my parents or my brothers.
I kept waiting for John to deny to uncle's request but instead he looked puzzled and it looked like he had no answers in his mind and he said, "Uncle... its true that I am incharge, but I can't take this decision. Infact mom, dad and Logan are to take the call. Not me."
Uncle Garry kept quiet for a while and then said something which took everyone aback..., "John, I know the decision is tough for you. But I can make that easy. You send Ria to my place and I promise you that I will return every single share to your dad and you guys which actually belongs to yo and your dad and you can all get back your previous life."
"What...?" John said cautiously.
I gaped in disgust as uncle wanted to crack a deal and compared my emotions to his mere property. But what affected and bothered me more was that John was not angry, instead he was cool and calm.
"What the hell you are saying uncle? John how can you say quiet after all these things this man is saying." Andy said out loud but John said his hand stopping him speak.
"Andy! You should mind your tone and language!" Uncle spoke in stern voice and that did shut Andy's voice, Afterall he was still our uncle and we used to dead scared of him when we were little. I saw uncle shut is eyes for a second or two may be dial down his anger and then said, "Guys, don't get anxious. I can give you even more. I can give the best of cars and house to you. Just make his deal. Afterall I and Milly are your family too." Uncle said smiling but it made me hate him even more.
But John was smiling now. Was he actually thinking of making the deal and send me back to that hell hole were the people made me cry for years longer than I can remember?
"John before you speak anything, you have to ask Ria what she wants." Joe said and Alex and Andy nodded to it.
"But what's there to ask Ria, Joe? I have already made the decision." John said and my vision became blurry because of the tears coming off my eyes.
Hope you guys like this early update. What next do you think will happen? Keep waiting for the next and do post your thoughts on upcoming plots while I start writing the climax for the story. luv ya all.